According to the Nova agency, the Mexican Business Coordination Council (Cce) has announced that the negotiations for the modernization of the free trade agreement between Mexico and the European Union have registered an advance of 90%.
The president of the CCE, Juan Pablo Castanon Castanon stressed the importance of access to the European market in order to allow the consumer to take advantage of a variety of products, without however damaging the Mexican production sector. "Being open to the world and promoting the competitiveness and diversification of its products is important for Mexico," he added.
Regarding issues relating to the marketing of certain agro-industrial products, the chairman said that some points still need to be agreed.
The Deputy Minister of Economy, Juan Carlos Baker also expressed himself on the positive trend of the negotiations, declaring, in a radio interview, that Mexico and the European Union, within a few weeks, despite the differences on some points, will conclude an agreement on the free trade treaty.
According to the Mexican Ministry of Economy, since the trade pact came into force in 2000, trade between Mexico and the European Union has tripled, from $ 20,8 billion to $ 61,7 billion. In 17 years, European companies have invested $ 174,8 billion in Mexico, or 35,9% of all foreign direct investment received by the country in that period.
Following the stalemate in the negotiations for the renewal of the North American Free Trade Treaty (NAFTA) with the United States and Canada - "totally unfeasible", according to Eduardo Solis, president of the Mexican association of the automotive industry and, rumors, increasingly insistent, of a possible withdrawal of the USA from the treaty, which would propose to raise the regional content of cars built in the three member countries of the Free Trade Agreement between North American countries (NAFTA) to 85%, an element that could have repercussions negatively on the Mexican economy since the US is the main export market - the Mexican government is trying to strengthen trade relations with the European Union.